Sulfur-containing polymers from hexahydrotriazine and dithiol precursors as a carrier for active agents

ABSTRACT

Polythioaminal polymers are made from hexahydrotriazine precursors and dithiol precursors. The precursors are blended together and subjected to mild heating to make the polymers. The polymers have the general structure 
                         
wherein each R 1  is independently an organic or hetero-organic group, each R 2  is independently a substituent having molecular weight no more than about 120 Daltons, X and Z are each a sulfur-bonded species, at least one of X and Z is not hydrogen, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. X and Z may be hydrogen or a functional group, such as a thiol-reactive group. The reactive thiol groups of the polythioaminal may be used to attach thiol-reactive end capping species. By using water soluble or water degradable dithiols, such as polyether dithiols, water soluble polythioaminals may be made. Some such polymers may be used to deliver therapeutics with non-toxic aqueous degradation products.

This application contains a sequence listing submitted electronically via EFS-web, which serves as both the paper copy and the computer readable form (CRF) and consists of a file entitled ARC920150017 Sequence Listing_ST25.txt, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to polythioaminals and the use of such polymers in the delivery of therapeutics.

BACKGROUND

By one measure, delivery of therapeutic medicaments generated $122.3 billion in 2012 and will grow to $198.4 billion by 2017. Growth in the market for therapeutic delivery technology provides participants with opportunities to create new ways to deliver increasingly potent and specific therapeutics. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) remains the only synthetic polymer used in commercial products as a stealth therapeutic delivery vehicle because it is substantially biocompatible, and it prolongs blood circulation times for therapeutic carriers. PEG is also associated with hazardous side-effects including immunological responses that can lead to increased blood clotting and embolism, nonspecific recognition by the immune system, and hypersensitivity reactions. These side-effects may be intensified by the non-biodegradability of PEG. Therefore, there is a need in the therapeutic delivery industry for a versatile delivery vehicle for therapeutics that has fewer side-effects.

SUMMARY

Described herein is a polymer having the general structure

wherein each R¹ is independently an organic or hetero-organic species, each R² is independently a substituent having a molecular weight no more than about 120 Daltons, X and Z are each a sulfur-bonded species, at least one of X and Z is not hydrogen, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Also described herein is a polymer comprising a repeating unit with the following structure:

and a segment with the following structure:

wherein R¹ is an organic or hetero-organic species, R² is a substituent having a molecular weight no more than about 120 Daltons, X is a linking group covalently bonded to a sulfur atom, and K is any radical suitable for bonding to X.

Also described herein is a method of forming a material, comprising: mixing an N-substituted hexahydrotriazine with a dithiol to form a first mixture; and heating the first mixture to form a polythioaminal polymer, wherein the substituent bonded to one or more of the nitrogen atoms of the N-substituted hexahydrotriazine forms a hydride that is volatile at temperatures less than 200° C.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES AND DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings and in the body of the specification. It is to be noted, however, that the appended and embedded drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a 1H-NMR trace for an exemplary reaction of 1,3,5-trimethylhexahydrotriazine and hexanedithiol.

FIG. 2 is a 2-d COSY NMR of the product of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a composite of 1H-NMR traces of the product of the reaction of FIG. 1, the 1H-NMR trace of thiophenol, and the 1H-NMR trace of the product obtained by reacting the product of the reaction of FIG. 1 with thiophenol.

FIG. 4 is a GPC trace showing the trace of a polymer, a peptide, and the product of a reaction between the polymer and the peptide.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures and drawings. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one embodiment may be beneficially utilized on other embodiments without specific recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Similarly, the terms “further comprises,” “may further comprise,” and “further comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of additional features or components, without precluding the presence or addition of other features or components. The terms “further comprises,” “may further comprise”, and “further comprising” in this specification do not mean that any features or components are excluded from any embodiments. When a range is used to express a possible value using two numerical limits a and b (e.g., a concentration of a ppm to b ppm), unless otherwise stated the value can be a, b, or any number between a and b.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and their practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention.

The inventors have made a new polymer having the general structure

This polymer (A) is a polythioaminal, which may be formed by reacting a hexahydrotriazine (“HT”) with a thiol, according to the following general reaction scheme:

In this scheme, each instance of R¹ is independently an organic or hetero-organic group. In some cases, each instance of R¹ may be the same species. Each instance of R² is independently an organic or hetero-organic group that may have a molecular weight of not more than about 120 Daltons, and each instance of R² may be the same species. X and Z are each, independently, a sulfur-bonded species, and n is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In each instance, R¹ may be a hydrocarbon species, an aromatic and/or aliphatic; a polymer species such as polyethylene glycol, polyol species; or polyether species, any of which may have non-hydrogen substituents, as governed by the dithiols used in the reaction scheme. In one embodiment, at least one instance of R¹ is polyethylene glycol. In another embodiment, each instance of R¹ is the same species.

Alkane dithiols such as butane dithiol, pentane dithiol, and hexane dithiol may be used as precursors. Aromatic dithiols such as benzene dithiol, toluene dithiol, and xylene dithiol may also be used as precursors. The dithiol may be a polymer species, such as a dithiol-capped polyolefin. Dithio-polyol species may also be used, such as dithio-alkane diols, triols, and the like. Each instance of R² may independently be hydrogen, fluorine, methyl, or an alkyl group such as ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, or cyclohexyl.

Reaction scheme (1) begins with the following polymerization reaction:

In reaction (2), an HT is reacted with a dithiol, or a mixture of dithiols, to form a polythioaminal, with R¹ and R² as described above. The reaction may be performed in a solvent medium such as N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), or other suitable solvent, to control viscosity. An example of such reaction is the reaction between 1,3,5-trimethylhexahydrotriazine and hexanedithiol, as follows:

Reaction (3) may be performed using NMP as solvent, or using the reactants alone as solvent. For example, the reaction (3) may be performed in excess triazine up to about 2 equivalents, such as from 1.3 to 1.5 equivalents, for example about 1.3 equivalents. The precursors may be obtained from commercial suppliers such as Sigma-Aldrich, or may be synthesized.

Reaction (3) may be performed according to the following exemplary process. In a stirred vessel, the dithiol precursor is added to 1.3 equivalents of the triazine precursor. The vessel is purged with nitrogen or other inert gas and sealed, and the reaction mixture is heated to 85° C. The reaction mixture is maintained at 85° C. for 18 hours to form oligomers. Vacuum is then applied to the vessel to remove volatile byproducts, driving growth in molecular weight of the resulting polymer molecules according to LeChatelier's Principle. The reaction is allowed to proceed for 24 hours, during which stirring may cease due to viscosity of the mixture. The resulting polymer is typically optically transparent and may range from a solid to a viscous liquid.

In one example of reaction (3), an NMR trace was obtained by the inventors. FIG. 1 is a 1H-NMR trace for an exemplary reaction of 1,3,5-trimethylhexahydrotriazine and hexanedithiol to form an embodiment of the polymer (A). The NMR trace of FIG. 1 was acquired in CDCl₃ using a Bruker 400-MHz NMR spectrometer. Chemical shifts in FIG. 1 are expressed in parts per million relative to TMS. Peak 102 indicates the carbon atom between a sulfur atom and a nitrogen atom. Peak 104 indicates the methyl group bonded to the nitrogen atom. Peak 106 indicates a carbon atom other than the carbon atom of peak 102 in the alpha position relative to a sulfur atom. Peak 108 indicates a carbon atom in the beta position relative to a sulfur atom. Peak 110 indicates the remaining carbon atoms between the carbon atoms of peak 106. The NMR trace of FIG. 1 is thus consistent with the polythioaminal product of reaction (3) above.

FIG. 2 is a 2-d COSY NMR of the product of FIG. 1. Off-line energy aggregates 202 and 204 indicate interaction of protons at the positions of the carbon atoms of peaks 106 and 108 of FIG. 1, providing further evidence of the product of reaction (3).

Each instance of R² may be any group with the property that the hydride of R², R²—H, is volatile at a temperature up to about 200° C., under vacuum if necessary. R²H is a by-product of reaction (2), and if R²—H can be removed from the reaction mixture, polymer growth is enhanced. Table 1A shows the results of a series of reactions following the scheme of reaction (2) using various different precursors. Table 1B describes the various precursors in detail.

TABLE 1A Reactions Forming Polymer HS—R¹—S—[—CN(R²)CS—R¹—S—]_(n)—H M_(w) M_(n) T_(g) Viscosity Polymer (g/mol) (g/mol) Polydispersity (° C.) (Pa · sec) 1a 19,800 8,100 2.4 −59.1 107.1 1b 17,100 9,000 1.9 −64.3 297.0 1c 8,700 4,900 1.8 −64.5  7.8 1d 5,200 2,900 1.8 −25.8 115.9 1e ≤2,000 ≤1,500 — — — 2a 3,800 2,500 1.5  50.8 — 3a 15,000 7,500 2.0 −44.4  46.8 4a 35,600 20,700 1.7 −50.5 —

TABLE 1B Precursors for Polymers of Table 1A Precursor R¹ Structure R² Structure Precursor Name 1

hexanedithiol 2

Dithiothreitol (Cleland’s Reagent) 3

Tetraethylene glycol dithiol 4

Polyethylene glycol dithiol a

1,3,5-trimethylhexahydrotriazine b

1,3,5-tributylhexahydrotriazine c

1,3,5-trihexylhexahydrotriazine d

1,3,5-tris(methylcyclohexyl) hexahydrotriazine e

1,3,5-tris(paramethylaminophenyl) hexahydrotriazine

Molecular weight averages for Table 1 were measured by size exclusion chromatography using a GPC system equipped with a Waters Corp.—717 auto sampler, 515 HPLC pump, 2410 Differential Refractometer, and Styragel High Resolution GPC column bank: Styragel HR1, HR2, HR4E, and HR5E. All GPCs were carried out using OmniSolv® THF with flow rate of 1 mL/min. at ambient temperature. All molecular weight averages are relative to calibrations using Linear PS standards from Polymer Laboratories.

Molecular weight of the resulting polymer molecules is enhanced by volatility of substituents of the triazine precursor. Table 1 indicates that as molecular weight of the R² group increases from species a to species e, the developed average molecular weight (weight-average molecular weight M_(w) and number-average molecular weight M_(n)) of the polymer decreases. It is believed this is due to volatility of the byproduct hydride R²—H. If the byproduct cannot be easily removed, reaction kinetics are slowed by buildup of byproducts in the reaction mixture. Application of heat and vacuum improves results up to a point. Because the polymer itself begins to decompose at temperatures above about 200° C., additional heating is counter-productive. In one aspect, polymerization is enhanced using trazine substituents R² having a molecular weight less than about 120 Daltons. In another aspect, polymerization is enhanced using triazine substituents whose hydrides have room temperature vapor pressure of at least about 10 Torr.

As Table 1 shows, the polymers described herein may have a weight-average molecular weight M_(w) as low as 3,800 Daltons and up to about 36,000 Daltons. In most embodiments, the polymers will have a weight-average molecular weight of at least about 10,000 Daltons.

It should be noted that the polymers of Table 1 were all made using one precursor having an R¹ structure and one precursor having an R² structure, but a mixture of dithiol precursors may be used, if desired, as noted in reaction scheme (1). A plurality of dithiol precursors may be used to make a copolymer or terpolymer, or any degree of mixed polymer. The mixed polymer may be a block mixed polymer, such as a block copolymer having the general formula:

where each instance of R³ is independently an organic or hetero-organic group different from R¹, and each instance of R³ may be the same species. As above in structure (A), each instance of R¹ is independently an organic or hetero-organic group, each instance of R¹ may be the same species, each instance of R² is independently an organic or hetero-organic group that may have a molecular weight of not more than about 120 Daltons, each instance of R² may be the same species, and m and n are each integers greater than or equal to 1. The polymer (B) may also be reacted with a thiol-reactive precursor containing the species X, and optionally a thiol-reactive precursor containing the species Z, to attach X and/or Z to the polymer (B) as with the polymer (A) above. The result would be a polymer having the general formula:

with R¹, R², R³, m, n, X, and Z defined as described above. To make a block copolymer such as the polymer (B) or the polymer (C), a first segment is made by reacting a 1,3,5 substituted HT having the general formula

with a first dithiol precursor HSR¹SH, optionally using a solvent, either to extinction of the first dithiol precursor or to a desired stopping point. If a portion of the first dithiol precursor remains after reaching the stopping point, the remainder of the first dithiol precursor may be removed, or the first segment may be removed from the reaction mixture. A second segment is made by reacting the 1,3,5 substituted HT with a second dithiol precursor HSR³SH by a similar procedure, with R¹, R², and R³ defined as above. The first and second segments are then mixed together with the 1,3,5 substituted HT precursor to encourage formation of a block copolymer. A solvent may be used to control viscosity of the polymerization mixture, if desired. A random copolymer may be made by mixing together the first and second dithiol precursors, optionally with a solvent, and adding the 1,3,5 substituted HT, with mild heat, to form a polymer.

It should also be noted that more than one triazine precursor may be used to make a polymer. A random copolymer may be made by using two different triazine precursors with one dithiol precursor. A block copolymer may be made by making a first segment using a first triazine precursor, making a second segment using a second triazine precursor, and then joining the first and second segments using the first triazine precursor, the second triazine precursor, or a mixture of the first and second triazine precursors. Further mixed polymers may be made by using mixtures of dithiol precursors and mixtures of triazine precursors.

In the formulas herein, X and Z may be any thiol reactive species. Of particular use, X and/or Z may be a therapeutic agent for treating a medical condition. X and/or Z may be a species selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol such as a thiophenol or a thioaniline, a peptide, a protein, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof, with the proviso that X and Z are not both hydrogen. X and/or Z may be a reactive or non-reactive species, a cargo, a linking group, a medicine, a functional species for further modification after construction of the polymer (A) or the polymer (B), a polymerization starter, a chemical species capable of initiating depolymerization, or a combination thereof. Any of the above species may be a linking species or group, or a non-linking species or group.

When X is a linking group, the following structure may result:

where K is any species bondable to X, and R¹, R², and n are defined as above. Z may also be a linking group, which may be the same as or different from X, in which case a K group may also be bonded to Z. K may be another polythioaminal segment that links to X via thiol reactivity, as X is linked to the polythioaminal product of reaction (2), or K may be any other desired species, for example another polymer, peptide, reactive or non-reactive species, cargo, linking group, functional species, polymerization starter, or depolymerization starter that links to X via any suitable linkage. K may also be a species selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol such as a thiophenol or a thioaniline, a peptide, a protein, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof.

X and Z may each come from a solid, a liquid, or a gas. In reaction (1) above, the reaction with HS—X may be performed in a bulk liquid phase or at a phase interface between the bulk liquid and a gas phase, an immiscible liquid phase, or a solid phase. Also in reaction (1) above, the reaction with HS—X may be performed in a bulk liquid phase or at a phase interface between the bulk liquid and a gas phase, an immiscible liquid phase, or a solid phase.

FIG. 3 is a composite of 1H-NMR traces of the reaction product 352 between polymer 1 a above and thiophenol, the 1H-NMR trace of thiophenol 354, and the 1H-NMR trace of the polymer 1 a 356. Peaks 102, 104, 106, 108, and 110 are visible in trace 356 indicating the structure of polymer 1 a, as described above in connection with FIG. 1. Peaks 304 and 306 in the traces 352, 356 indicate aromatic carbon atoms in the phenyl ring. Peak 302 of trace 354, which is not visible in the traces 352, 356, indicates a new linkage at the carbon atom in the alpha position with respect to nitrogen and in the alpha position with respect to the sulfur atom bonded to the phenyl ring.

A nucleotide useable as the sulfur-bonded group X and/or Z may be a thiol modified oligonucleotide, as in either of the following:

Other species of interest for forming the sulfur-bonded groups X and/or Z include dimercaptosuccinic acid

tiopronin

and the protein known as RANTES or chemokine ligand 5.

Polymer properties may be tuned by selecting the R¹ and R² groups. In particular, interaction of the polymer with water may be tuned by providing various hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic substituents. By using a large hydrophilic dithiol and a small hydrophobic substituted HT, a water-soluble polythioaminal may be made. For example, polymer 4 a above was found to reduce in molecular weight to an M_(n) below about 4,500 after 4 days in a water solution. Slow degradation of such a polymer into non-toxic PEG components provides the potential for therapeutic delivery agents that do not have toxic effects.

In one example, the thiol-containing amphiphilic alpha-helical peptide SEQ ID NO: 1-NH₂ was attached to water-soluble polythioaminal polymer 4 a by mixing the peptide and polymer under mild heating. Initially, the peptide was observed to form a white powder phase in the viscous polymer. Maintaining the reaction mixture at 85° C. for 8 hours produced a single phase polymer-peptide product. FIG. 4 is a GPC trace showing the trace of the starting polymer 4 a 502, the starting peptide SEQ ID NO: 1-NH₂ 504, and the polymer-peptide product 506. The GPC trace of the polymer-peptide product 506 shows the effect of different numbers of repeating polythioaminal units attached to the peptide.

To investigate toxicity of the polymer-peptide product, the polymer-peptide product was dissolved in a simulated physiological environment comprising 10% prenatal bovine serum in a phosphate-buffered saline solution. No precipitation or aggregation was observed in the solution over 24 hours. The polymer-peptide products was also incubated with human embryonic kidney cells from cell line HEK293 for 24 hours, after which more than 90% cell viability was observed. No hemolysis was observed at doses up to 1000 mg/L. In contrast, viability of the HEK293 cells in the presence of the peptide alone was below 70% at a dose of 50 mg/L, while viability after similar incubation period with the polymer-peptide product was more than 80% at 200 mg/L.

A method of forming a material includes mixing an N-substituted hexahydrotriazine and a dithiol in a vessel to form a first mixture, and heating the first mixture to form a polythioaminal polymer. The substituent bonded to a nitrogen atom of the N-substituted hexahydrotriazine forms a hydride byproduct during polymerization. The substituent is selected such that the hydride byproduct is volatile at temperatures up to about 200° C. so that the hydride byproduct can be removed during polymerization to increase molecular weight of the polymer.

The method may further comprise adding a thiol-reactive material to the polythioaminal polymer to form a second mixture, and the second mixture may be heated to form an end-modified polythioaminal polymer, which may be a therapeutic agent. A solvent may be added to the N-substituted hexahydrotriazine or the dithiol prior to forming the first mixture, may be added during forming the first mixture, may be added to the first mixture after forming the first mixture, or may be added to the second mixture after forming the second mixture.

The first mixture may be heated to a temperature generally above room temperature and up to about 200° C. In some cases, temperatures above 200° C. may be used, but some polymers degrade at temperatures above 200° C. In most cases, a reaction temperature of 50-100° C., for example about 80° C., will promote reaction to form the polythioaminal polymer. The first mixture may be stirred, or otherwise mixed, while forming the polythioaminal polymer.

A higher reaction temperature may be used in some cases to promote removal of byproducts during the reaction. The hexahydrotriazine precursor may be any of the hexahydrotriazine precursors described herein, and hydrogen atoms bonded to any or all nitrogen atoms in each hexahydrotriazine molecule may be substituted. One or more of the substituents bound to the nitrogen atoms of the hexahydrotriazine precursor will form a hydride byproduct during the polymerization reaction, so the substituent is generally chosen to form a hydride byproduct that is volatile at temperatures up to 200° C. The byproduct may volatilize from heating alone, or vacuum may be applied to encourage volatility of the byproduct. For at least this reason, higher temperatures may promote development of higher molecular weight in the polymer through removal of byproducts.

Formation of the polymer may be controlled to any desired degree by adjusting temperature of the reaction mixture and by adjusting solvent content. Lowering temperature, or adding solvent, will slow the growth of the molecular weight. Raising temperature, or using less solvent, will promote growth of molecular weight, up to a point. If the reaction mixture is stirred or mixed, high viscosity may make mixing, and subsequent processing, difficult. Solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrollidone or other suitable aprotic solvents, which may include dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), Propylene carbonate (PC), and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA), of which any mixture may also be used.

The thiol-reactive material may include a species that is a reactive species, a non-reactive species, a cargo, a linking group, a medicine, a functional species for further modification after construction of the end-modified polythioaminal polymer, a polymerization starter, a chemical species capable of initiating depolymerization, or a combination thereof. Some species that may be attached to a polythioaminal through a thiol-reactive material include alkane thiols, aromatic thiols such as a thiophenol or a thioaniline, peptides, proteins, thio-acids, nucleotides, and combinations thereof. The thiol-reactive material may be a solid, liquid or gas, and the reaction between the thiol-reactive material may take place entirely in the liquid phase or at an interface between solid and liquid or liquid and gas.

The methods described herein may be used to form a polymer comprising a repeating unit with the following structure:

and a segment with the following structure:

wherein R¹ is independently an organic or hetero-organic species, each instance of R² is independently a substituent having molecular weight no more than about 120 Daltons, X is a linking group covalently bonded to a sulfur atom, and K is any radical suitable for bonding to X. X may be a species selected from the group consisting of hexyl, dihydroxybutyl, and polyethylene glycol. The polymer may further comprise a segment with the following structure:

wherein Z is a species selected from the group consisting of a cargo, a medicine, a chemical species capable of initiating depolymerization, or a combination thereof. Z may be a species selected from the group consisting of an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol, a peptide, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof. Z may be a therapeutic agent. In the structure above, the wavy lines denote a covalent chemical bond to a species or radical not shown in the structure.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A polymer having the general structure

wherein each R¹ is independently a hydrocarbon species, an aromatic species, a polyol species, or a polyether species, each R² is independently an alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aromatic substituent having a molecular weight no more than 120 Daltons, X and Z are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol, a peptide, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof, at least one of X and Z is not hydrogen, and n is an integer greater than or equal to
 1. 2. The polymer of claim 1, wherein X is biologically active.
 3. The polymer of claim 1, wherein X is a peptide species.
 4. The polymer of claim 3, wherein each instance of R¹ is polymeric.
 5. The polymer of claim 3, wherein at least one instance of R¹ is polyethylene glycol.
 6. The polymer of claim 1, wherein each instance of R² is a methyl group.
 7. The polymer of claim 1, wherein each instance of R¹ is the same species.
 8. The polymer of claim 1, wherein the polymer is a random copolymer of the structure recited in claim
 1. 9. A polymer comprising a repeating unit with the following structure:

and a segment with the following structure:

wherein R¹ is a hydrocarbon species, an aromatic species, a polyol species, or a polyether species, R² is an alkyl, cycloalkyl, or aromatic substituent having a molecular weight no more than about 120 Daltons, X is a linking group selected from the group consisting of hexyl, dihydroxybutyl, and polyethylene glycol, K is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol, a peptide, a protein, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof, and the wavy bond represents a bond to another atom in the chemical structure.
 10. The polymer of claim 9, comprising a segment with the following structure:

wherein Z is a therapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of a peptide, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof.
 11. The polymer of claim 10, wherein the polymer has a weight-average molecular weight of at least 10,000 Daltons.
 12. The polymer of claim 9, comprising a segment with the following structure:

wherein Z is a species selected from the group consisting of an alkane thiol, an aromatic thiol, a peptide, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof. 